How to read and say Malay

Malay is very easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds. One peculiarity of the spelling is the lack of a separate sign to denote the schwa. It is written as an 'e', or as an 'a' at the ends of words, which can sometimes be confusing. (If you have plans to visit Kelantan, note that Kelantanese varies considerably in pronunciation and somewhat in vocabulary from standard Malay, but though the local dialect is widely used and promoted in the state, standard Malay is generally well understood there. Some basics of Kelantanese pronunciation have been given below, just in case you meet someone with a strong accent while visiting that state, but you should continue to emulate a standard accent when speaking there, as imitating the Kelantanese accent would come across as disrespectful. The Malay dialect spoken by Muslims in Southern Thailand, Yawi, is so similar to Kelantanese that all pronunciation advice related to Kelantanese also applies to Yawi, and Southern Thai Muslims may prefer for you to try to speak with their accent.)

Vowels

a

like 'a' in 'father', except at the end of most multi-syllabic words, where it's a schwa in Singapore and most parts of Peninsular Malaysia other than Kedah and Kelantan (e.g., nama, the word for 'name', has an 'a' as in 'father' in the first syllable and a schwa in the second). In Kedah, East Malaysia and Brunei, the final 'a' is also 'a' as in 'father', whereas in Kelantanese dialect, it's like the sound of 'o' as described below.

ê

like 'e' in 'vowel' (schwa), sometimes barely pronounced at all when in the first syllable of a multi-syllable word

e, é

like 'e' in 'bed'; the difference between a schwa and an e used to be indicated in writing a long time ago but has not been since the 1960s or earlier.

i

like 'ee' in 'beet', sometimes like 'i' in 'thin' in unstressed syllables; in final 'ih' and 'ik' combinations, like 'eh'. The "ir" final is also pronounced like "eh" in southern Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

o

like 'ow' in 'low', but without the 'w' sound

u

like 'oo' in 'hoop', in open positions or like 'o' in 'hope' in close positions, such as in final 'uh' and 'uk' combinations. Also becomes an "o" sound in "ung" and "um" finals in southern Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

Note: In Kelantanese dialect, 'ang', 'an' and 'am' at the ends of words are all pronounced like 'ay' as in 'day', but with no 'y' consonant. So, for example, the word jangan ('don't') becomes more or less 'jah-NGEH'. Also, 'ah' at the ends of words is pronounced 'oh' and 'ak' as 'ok' (the 'o' vowel plus a glottal stop) in Kelantanese and traditionally in Terengganu dialect as well. If you hear people in Terengganu with thick local accents, you'll find that 'ang', 'an' and 'am' at the ends of words are all pronounced 'ahng'; that, for example, lokam, meaning "marsh clam" and longkang, meaning "drain" both sound like "lo-kahng"; and there are some other differences. But unless you go far off the beaten track in Terengganu, it's likely that everyone you meet will be able to speak to you in standard Malay.

Consonants

b

like 'b' in 'bed'

c

like 'ch' in 'China'

ch

old spelling of c

d

like 'd' in 'dog'

f

like 'ph' in 'phone'; can also be pronounced like 'p' in 'pig'.

g

like 'g' in 'go'

h

like 'h' in 'help'; initial 'h' is not always pronounced in some dialects

j

like 'j' in 'jug'; in older romanizations also the vowel i

k

like 'c' in 'cat'; at ends of words, a glottal stop like the stop some people use to pronounce 'something' as 'sump'n'

kh

like 'ch' in 'loch' or 'c' in 'cat'

l

like 'l' in 'love'

m

like 'm' in 'mother'

n

like 'n' in 'nice'

ng

like 'ng' in 'long'. Never pronounced with a hard 'g'

ngg

like 'ng' in 'monger'. Always includes a hard 'g'

ny

like 'ni' in 'onion'

p

like 'p' in 'pig'; unaspirated (i.e., no explosive sound) at the ends of words

q

like 'q' in 'quest' (most commonly with 'u', and only in Arabic borrowings)

r

like 'r' in 'rat', but starting with the tongue just behind the upper teeth, never formed with the lips. Often silent at the end of a syllable in southern Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

s

like 'ss' in 'hiss'

sy

like 'sh' in 'sheep'

t

like 't' in 'top'; unaspirated (i.e., no explosive sound) at the ends of words

v

like 'ph' in 'phone' (only used in loanwords)

w

like 'w' in 'weight'

x

like 'cks' in 'kicks' (only used in loanwords)

y

like 'y' in 'yes'

z

like 's' in 'hiss', like 'z' in 'haze', like 'j' in 'jam'

Common diphthongs

ai

like the English word 'I' (except in Kelantan, where this diphthong is similar to 'ay' in 'day')

au

like 'ow' in 'cow'

oi

like 'oy' in 'boy'

Note: Besides the above diphthongs, when two vowels appear next to each other, they must generally be pronounced as separate syllables.

Note

In the pseudo-pronunciations below, glottal stops are shown as apostrophes, usually at the ends of words. Unaspirated consonants (always the letters T or P, usually at the ends of words) are shown in parentheses.